Carrying harness for small children

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a carrying harness for small children. The carrying harness comprises a fastening that is fastened to the fixed carrier as well as a front piece ( 23 ) that is fixed to the carrier by a number of separate clasps. The fastening harness comprises a waist strap ( 1 A,  1  B), two shoulder straps ( 2, 3 ) as well as a lumbar plate ( 4 ) at which there are fasteners ( 25, 26 ) on the shoulder straps for the front piece&#39;s ( 21 ) middle part ( 2 ). The lumbar plate ( 33 ) affords an advantageous load distribution and simple adjustment of the fastening harness. The shoulder straps are bent back at the lumbar plate so that both ends of each shoulder strap are brought together on the same side of the carrier of the carrying harness.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the US National Phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 ofInternational Application No. PCT/SE2008/000100 filed Feb. 6, 2007,which, in turn, claims priority to Swedish App. No. 0700385-8 filed Feb.9, 2007, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a carrying harness, primarily designedfor carrying a small child against the carrier's chest and stomach.

SUMMARY

The purpose of the present invention is to show an improved carryingharness for small children. Depending on how the harness is employed,improvements may be achieved with regard to the management of theharness upon putting it on and placing the child in it as well as withregard to both the carrier and the child's comfort.

A carrying harness according to the invention comprises a fasteningharness that is strapped fast to a carrier as well as a front piece thatis fixed to the fastening harness. The fastening harness and the frontpiece each have a strap system that are also jointly referred to as thestrap system. The front piece with strap system that supports and holdsup the carried child, is fixed to the fastening harness at severalpoints by means of separate clasps or similar items that can easily bereleased individually. This facilitates the use of the carrying harnessboth with regard to putting the carrying harness on and upon putting thechild in the carrying harness. The bearing pressure on the carryingharness is borne entirely by the harness by means of this strap system.A further advantage of the arrangement according to the invention isthat the size of the front piece is controllable through the strapsystem being adjustable and the fact that a tab projecting from thefront piece can lie against the carrier's chest, between the carrier andthe child.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention shall be described in detail below in connection with theexample of a preferred form of the carrying harness as shown in theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows in diagram form a person wearing a carrying harness;

FIG. 2 shows the fastening harness;

FIG. 3 shows a lumbar plate or back piece of the fastening harness;

FIG. 4 shows a front piece of the carrying harness; and

FIG. 5 shows a back plate and straps of the front piece.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The fastening harness comprises a waist strap with a right and left part1A, 1B, two shoulder straps 2, 3 as well as a back piece or lumbar plate4. On the shoulder straps there are the fastenings 5, 6 which engage amiddle part of the front piece 23 and fastenings 7, 8 which engage ahead support part of the front piece 23. The shape of the front piece 23is shown in greater detail in FIG. 4 which shows the front piece's headsupport part 25 and the fastening arrangements comprising parts 35, 36of the head support clasp. The lock and clasp are so formed that theycan be simply fastened and released by one hand. The front piece's lowerpart 24 rests on a tightening strap 37 and a seat strap 38 that, inturn, is connected with a clasp 9. It is thereby possible for the userto take hold of the clasp 9 without this being made difficult orprevented by the front piece 23. The front piece 23 can be fastened toand released from the clasp 9 to the required extent in order to makethe use of the carrying harness as simple as possible even when a childis to be put in, or taken out, of the carrying harness.

The carrying harness also comprises two plates of stiff material,preferably a plastic material. One of the plates, designated a lumbarplate, is positioned on the carrier's back and the other plate,designated the back plate, is placed in the front piece 23 behind thecarried child's back. Both of the plates are wholly or partly covered bytextile material when the carrying harness is being used.

The back part or lumbar plate 4 is primarily formed as an upside down T,as seen in FIG. 3. In the outer end of each of the two lower legs thereare holes 19, 20 or other suitable means arranged in order to fasten thetwo waist strap parts 1A, 1B, possibly with a means of adjustment, tothe lumbar plate 4. In a similar manner holes 21, 22 or correspondingmeans are arranged at the lumbar plate's upper part in through which theshoulders straps 2, 3 extend can be kept freely adjustable. In otherexecutions the lumbar plate can be divided up into an upper and a lowerpart that are separate or connected to each other in a suitable manner.

The fastening harness has, preferably, a large number of adjustmentpossibilities as will be seen from the following. The harness's waiststrap has two parts, 1A and 1B that are fastened to the lower part ofthe lumbar plate 4. Each part of the waist strap possesses a clasp 10,11 or similar adjustment means for adjusting the length of the waiststrap whereby each strap part can be further divided into two parts atthe adjustment position. The length adjustment can also be arranged atthe fitting on the lumbar plate. The shoulder straps 2, 3 are fixed onthe waist strap's forward part close to the protruding strap parts 14,15. From here the shoulder straps extend to the upper part of the lumbarplate 4 where they are passed through their respective holes 21, 22, (orone joint corresponding hole) of the lumbar plate. The holes 21, 22 aresomewhat diagonal in relation to the lumbar plate's vertical middleaxis, and allow for the shoulder straps to be freely adjusted. Theshoulder straps are then bent back to the side from which they came outand are fastened to the same respective waist strap part. This can beseen in FIG. 3 with arrows 2A, 2B and 3A, 3B which correspond to therespective shoulder straps. The shoulder straps can also have adjustmentmeans 12, 13 for adjustment of their length. These adjustment means 12,13 are the same as the waist strap's adjustment means and can also beplaced at the straps' end-points. The fastening is preferably formed atthis so that it can be tightened up, i.e. the straps' length can bereduced through pulling in the strap or tie parts at the adjustmentmeans. Through both ends of each of the shoulder straps being fastenedto the same waist strap and thereby on the same side of the carrier, theeffect of the tightening is not transferred to the one side or the otherside, as is the case with crossing straps. The lumbar plate 4 thusprovides an advantageous distribution of the load and a simpleadjustment of the fastening harness.

The front piece 23 (FIG. 4) has a lower part 24 that rests on the seatstrap 38 and the forward tightening strap 37. The seat strap 38 isfirmly connected with the clasp 9 or a similar part in relation to thisthat can be secured and released. The front piece also has side parts28, 29 as well as a head support part 25 with fastening strap 26, 27that can constitute integral parts of the head support part and connectto the outer clasps 35, 36. In the front piece there is also a backplate 30 that is connected to the side clasps 33, 34 while two straps31, 32 that extend in an outwards direction towards the side parts 28,29 and, via the clasps 33, 34, are fixed to the fastening harness'sclasp 5, 6. These straps are also fitted with clasps or other means oflength adjustment whereby the size of the space intended for the carriedchild can be adjusted. A similar adjustment opportunity is also to befound at the head support in the connection to/from this protrudingstrap (not shown on the drawings). Yet another possibility for adaptingthe carrying harness to the child that is to be carried is that the seatstrap 38, that the front piece's lower part 24 rests on, is connected tothe back plate 30 by means of a strap 37 or the like, the length ofwhich can be adjusted. The entire load factor from the carried child isabsorbed by the strap system, in which the lumbar plate 4 and the backplate 30 are also included, so that the textile material, especially inthe front part 23, is left devoid of any load. This gives rise to a moreexact positioning of the carrying harness as the effect of theelasticity and flexibility of the textile material is largely devoid ofimpact on this situation. The textile material's function of making thecarrying harness comfortable for the child and carrier is therebyimproved.

Within the framework of the invention concept other variations of thecarrying harness are also possible. The strap in the head support canform part of the harness system and be connected with the seat strap.The back plate can also be reduced in size and be possibly replaced bythe seat strap, alternatively via the tightening strap, being directlyconnected with the laterally-directed tightening straps.

COMPONENT LIST

-   1 Waist strap-   2, 3 Shoulder strap-   4 Lumbar plate-   5,6,7,8 Clasp-   9 Clasp-   10, 11 Adjustment-   12, 13 Adjustment-   14, 15 Strap ends with fastening parts-   16 Middle part of lumbar plate-   17 Lower part-   18 Upper part-   19,20 Hole-   21,22 Hole-   23 Front part-   24 Lower part of front piece-   25 Head support part-   26,27 Strap-   28, 29 Side part-   30 Back plate-   31,32 Tightening strap-   33,34 Clasp-   35,36 Clasp-   37 Tightening strap-   38 Seat strap

1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled) 6.A carrying harness for small children comprising a fastening harness anda front piece connectable to said fastening harness and which supports achild, wherein said fastening harness is configured to be firmly fixedto a person carrying said harness and comprises shoulder straps and awaist strap; said waist strap being comprised of two parts each of whichhas a protruding strap portion; said shoulder straps are bent aroundwhen worn by a person to resemble a loop or slot on a rear side of saidcarrying person in such a way that said respective shoulder strapremains on the respective side of said carrying person; said shoulderstraps extending from a foremost portion of said waist strap parts closeto said protruding strap portions, and to said bending round arrangementwhere they are carried through respective holes, or a commoncorresponding hole, and wherein said shoulder straps are configured tobe freely adjusted and bent back to a side from which they extend, andto be fastened to the same respective waist strap part.
 7. The carryingharness as claimed in claim 6, comprising a lumbar plate which includesmeans for bending back said shoulder straps.
 8. The carrying harness asclaimed in claim 7, wherein an upper portion of said lumbar platecomprises holes for said bending back of said shoulder straps, saidholes being arranged diagonally in relation to a center axis of saidlumbar plate.
 9. The carrying harness as claimed in claim 8, whereinsaid lumbar plate is formed in one piece.
 10. The carrying harness asclaimed in claim 8, wherein said lumbar plate is formed in severalpieces which are configured to be interconnected by means of links,straps or other suitable means.
 11. A carrying harness for smallchildren comprising a carrying harness adapted to be worn by a personand a front piece securable to said carrying harness and adapted to holda small child; said carrying harness comprising: a lumbar support havingan upper section and a lower section; said upper section defining a pairof openings; right and left shoulder straps; each shoulder strap passingthrough a respective one of said openings of said lumbar support anddefining a loop, such that when said carrying harness is worn, eachshoulder straps remains on the respective side of said person; and awaist strap at said bottom of said lumbar support; said waist strapbeing comprised of two parts each of which has a protruding strapportion; each waist strap part extending through the loop defined bysaid right and left shoulder straps; said protruding strap portions ofsaid waist strap parts being removably connected together by a clasp.12. The carrying harness of claim 11 wherein said shoulder straps and/orwaist straps are adjustable in length.